Rotherham author who acted in Horrible Histories debuts new children's book - to high praise from Waterstones
Growing up on a cruise ship may come with its own challenges, but for one South Yorkshire-born author it’s proved to be the greatest inspiration.
Born in Rotherham, Emma Swan spent much of her youth aboard a cruise ship that her parents worked on.
She was home-schooled out at sea and woke up every day to new and incredible sights.
And now, that experience has led her to write a critically-acclaimed children’s book titled ‘Cruise Ship Kid: Thief At Sea’, following the journey of young Silver, a child investigating the case of the missing mega-expensive watches.
The adventure is directly inspired from her own experiences exploring cruise ships as a child, with a fun comedy/crime twist.
Emma told The Star: “I work a lot with Horrible Histories and I’ve always loved funny stuff for kids - it’s something I’m really passionate about.
“So being a part of that made me really want to something of my own that could make kids laugh.
“I spent a lot of time on ships, but I was born in Rotherham and I’m a big northerner. So that was my big inspiration before anything - Silver’s this little girl who lives on a cruise ship and has a northern accent.
“It’s something she’s picked on for, but ends up finding pride in where she comes from.”
While this may be her first book, it’s not Emma’s first artistic endeavour, as she has previously starred on the West End stage production of Horrible Histories and provided voice work for Doctor Who audio dramas alongside Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant.
Illustrated by Katie Saunders, Cruse Ship Kid - which is written as Sliver’s diary and includes interactive doodles and quizzes - has already received wide-spread acclaim and been named as Waterstones’ Children's Book of the Month.
The bookshop chain’s review read: “Tom Gates meets Cluedle, the first rip-roaring entry in Swan's mystery series teams young readers up with junior sleuth Silver, who lives on a cruise ship and solves crimes at sea.”
The book launched on July 3, and Emma says the response has been overwhelming - though a recent trip to Aston Library has been a highlight of the whole experience.
“I feel lucky, so so lucky,” she added.
“I was in Aston Library and the kids were amazing - it was a bit of a highlight seeing kids where I’m from sharing their joy in the book.”
She will be hosting another reading at the Waterstones in Sheffield on July 13.